Good to be live
by MoonRayCZ
Summary: Straight continuation to "Am I not human?" By Kirmon64. After meeting with Michelle, Chappie tries to adapt to new situations. He tries to find a way how to make Deon and Yolandi more human, tries to understand how to make new friends, explore the world around him, or just decide who is his real father. Meanwhile, Michelle has some bussiness with Vincent.


Since they met with Michelle, they stayed in contact with her. They weren't posting friendly messages, they weren't that far, but the conversations got more and more relaxed over time. She was giving them reports of how things are evolving on her side and how she is trying to clean up names and at the same time get TetraVaal back on the rail. It will still need some time, months.

Chappie was patient, he didn't want to rush her. Yes, he couldn't wait when he will be able to walk around the town and explore the world for real. The real outside world, the same world that Ninja told him about so much time ago, when he just left him outside. Chappie tried to not think of the day, when he was beaten, burned and later he got his hand cut off. He knew not all humans are bad, but he didn't want to ruin his option of mankind, because of one day.

Still, the more and more he was sitting in the tree's crown outside the house and watching world around him. Humans were fascinating beings; they all looked and acted so differently. Deon was terrified, when he discovered Chappie is just sitting in the tree and he could be seen, but over some time he calmed down. Chappie was careful and reacted very quickly, so he always got hidden when someone came. It was still making Deon nervous, but at least he didn't have panic attacks anymore.

Chappie was once again sitting in tree's crown and looking around. Sun was coming down and he could see children playing on streets. Those little versions of humans were the most fascinating. They were more active, cheerful and innovative. He liked to watch children the most, adults most of the time just came home, or argued with someone else. Yes, watching adults argue and swear was also interesting, but he rather enjoyed watching kids who were pretending they are pirates, or someone called Han Solo.

He wondered whether he could play with them one day. He started to feel, lonely… Yes, he had his family, but sometimes he wondered what it would be like, if he could go and talk to someone else. Play with someone else. Even when he was maturing so fast, he was still child at heart. He wanted to have fun, but he couldn't, because he had to hide and couldn't come in contact with strangers. Deon and Yolandi started to notice this some time ago. Unfortunately they couldn't do anything to fix it. Chappie needed company of other kids and people, but for now, he had to wait and hope the chance would come soon. The only thing they could do was to spend more time with him. Even when Deon wasn't a very social person, and he himself didn't need to meet with other people, he understood Chappie isn't like him. He wanted to meet people; he wanted to talk with them. Deon knew this, and he felt very sorry he can't do anything for his son, to make it better.

This resulted in Chappie trying to find other ways to entertain himself. Now when he didn't have to be worried about his own mortality and finding a way to survive, his number one priority was finding a way to simulate human senses. He was curious how it feels like to touch things, smell, feel cold or warmth, but he wasn't doing it mainly for himself. He was doing it for his Maker and mommy.

Yolandi adapted to her body much faster and better than Deon, but Chappie knew it's mainly because they prepared the body. For Deon, it was a shock, he wasn't ready for this. Getting used to his new body caused him a lot of pain and stress, even when Chappie was always there for him; sometimes he was at his breaking point. He got better, but he still felt uncomfortable in his body, at least he hadn't phantom pains anymore and he understood he needed to sleep. Chappie was also glad they brought Mommy back, not only because Chappie could see her again, but she was helping Deon a lot. Chappie was trying to comfort his Maker as well as he could, but Yolandi was still much better at this. She wasn't as dear to Deon as Chappie was, but she knew how to take care of someone who needed comfort. Chappie was always sitting close, watching her and remembering everything she was doing.

In fact, Deon and Yolandi were getting along just fine. She wasn't aggressive to him as Ninja and she was even taming the older man, when he was once again having one of his tantrums and starting to yell at Deon. Usually they were just sitting and talking to each other, with Chappie sitting and leaning on their side, enjoying the calm and still atmosphere. He didn't like screaming and loud sounds, just like Deon, so he was always glad when he could enjoy some silence, or listening to calm voices that he knew so well. Sometimes they felt like he is like a dog, which is just lying next to his master and enjoying the company. Sometimes he also brought a book and read, while listening. Ninja was very rarely attending these moments, because he didn't think it was his cup of tea. He rather went outside.

Moments like these became even better one day, because Chappie found in front of the door a box. He took it in, and when he opened it, he couldn't believe his eyes, it was full of books. They were suspicious where it came from, but when Chappie found a paper with a letter from Michelle and read it, his ears got up in joy and he started to look through box, curious what he will find. There were storybooks, encyclopedias, photo books, art books, and even big atlas of the world. The atlas became Chappie's favorite book, because he liked to look at maps and get to know about people, animals and nature of certain places. They spent many hours sitting with atlas and talking about different places of the world.

When they talked about England, Deon told Chappie about times when he studied there at Oxford and how London looks like. They also enjoyed listening to stories about what happened to Deon, while living there, mainly how many times he missed the bus to university and had to run through the whole town. He promised they would one day visit London. Now when it was just a question of the time, with Michelle on their side, Deon wanted to visit England again, and see his family. He just needed to be patient.

When they looked at Australia at one point, Deon fell silent. Chappie was confused by this, but he understood very quickly when Deon mentioned Vincent's name. Vincent… Deon wondered where he was now. Michelle told them he will live, but it will take time to recover. Deon didn't really felt regret for him, he deserved what Chappie did to him. He was just curious how he is now, they worked in the same company for few years and Deon asked himself few times if all of this could be avoided. Was there a way to make up Vincent's mind? Could he do something? He didn't really mind Vincent, he only disliked moments when he was picking up on him, calling him kid and pulling gun right into his face. Still, Deon felt sorry, how it all turned out he never thought Vincent would do such a thing. He was sure they would meet again one day and he didn't know how to prepare himself for that, because he still felt an urge to punch him in the face.

Then he looked at Chappie, his ears were down and he looked… sad. He returned the look and Deon just sighed and pulled him close with one arm. Making him sure it would be OK. He wished those things never happened, but he couldn't' do anything about it. Hating someone wasn't the way to live, Chappie forgave Vincent, but he still had to deal with bad memories that were caused by this man. Time will help.

When Chappie didn't have anything else to do, he dedicated his time to development of upgrades. The first thing he wanted to achieve was a simulation of advanced touch. He started to build sensors, which will be installed into hands, but as he was able only to sense the pressure, not to distract various surfaces and temperatures, he needed help. Yolandi and Deon were always ready to help him. Deon couldn't even say how proud he is of his child, and how thankful he is. Chappie was trying to make him more human again. Deon hoped Chappie isn't doing it just because he feels guilty.

One day when they were trying again to make sensors work, Deon had to ask.

"Chappie…"

"Ja?" His creation answered him, eyes still fixed on Deon's hand and sensors. Deon was watching him and he wanted to chuckle, Chappie was just like him when he was working on something. He was noticing his surroundings, but his sight never left the work he was working on.

"You are not trying so hard, just because you feel guilty, right?"

Chappie stopped working and he looked right at Deon, giving him his full attention. His ears got down and he was thinking for a while.

"No… Well… I feel guilty, you are like this because of me, but I'm also curious, I want to know how it feels to touch things. I just regret I will never be able to touch you as a human…"

He returned back to work and Deon was looking at him, with no words to say. Those last words stabbed him right in the heart, because he felt the same way. Then he flinched, when he felt… pain.

"Maker! You OK?" Chappie grabbed him with both hands and Deon looked at him, and then back on his hands.

"I felt… pain."

Chappie looked at him confused, but he slowly started to understand. Deon reached with his hands to his face and started to slowly rub it.

He could feel it… He felt metal, but at the same time warmth.

"Can you feel it?" Chappie asked and his ears got up in joy when Deon nodded.

"Yeah…. I can." He felt like he would cry, he felt touch again. Chappie took his hand and he put it on his chest, right where the battery was. God, it was so warm. He didn't remember Chappie being so warm to touch, but it was so pleasant. He was slowly rubbing Chappie's chest and then he took his hand. It was also warm.

He wanted to cry. This was beautiful, he felt like human again in this short moment. Chappie did it. He returned him ability to touch, to feel. He couldn't believe this, but it was true.

"I told you I will make you better, Maker."

He looked at his child and he pulled him close in tight hug. "Thank you Chappie. Thank you…"

Chappie returned the hug, happy. He was sure he will make sensors even better, this was only the beginning, but he did it. And Deon's happiness was the best reward he could get.

Since he was able to figure out how to feel all touch, he made few more changes to sensors to make them better and then installed them into everyone's hands. He was sure he will be working on better version in time, but for now, he just wanted to experiment a little.

The first thing that he touched was Deon's hand. It was smooth and Chappie was fascinated by feeling of warmth. From what he heard about robots, they are supposed to be cold to touch, but Deon, himself and Yolandi were warm. He wondered if that was because of consciousness. He was rubbing Deon's hand curiously and then reached to Deon's chest. That was the warmest place on their bodies. Chappie was rubbing it and he just couldn't get over it, how pleasant warmth was. When he reached back, he rubbed both his hands together and Deon could see clear joy in his whole presence. For him, getting back ability to touch was like reviving old instinct. For Chappie, it was something entirely new he could discover and enjoy. He was like a little child again and Deon couldn't blame him.

He then gave Chappie other different things to touch. He gave him book, so he could feel the surface of paper and know how it feels like to turn pages. He found a quick enjoyment in quick browsing of the book and then feeling a mild breeze that came with it.

Deon was sure Chappie will now go and try to touch anything he will find and he won't stay just in the house. Chappie tried everything that came in his way, but he had to admit, nothing was better than his own warmth, or warmth of others. The closest thing was blanket or Tek, because the rat's fur was so similar to fabric. Leaves were very smooth and nice and touch but on the other hand they were cold. The rocks were interesting, because every one of them was different to touch. They all had different surfaces, some were smooth, some were rough, and some had holes in them. He didn't really like mud, it was sticky and you couldn't really hold it. It was slipping right through the fingers.

He was really fascinated by water. Getting his hands wet and then letting them get dry again was amazing feeling. The water could be both, cold or warm and really liked to put his hand in warm water and stay like this until the water was cold.

Still, he regretted so much he will never be able to touch Mommy and Deon when they were humans. He never thought about it before, but now it made him feel sad. He knew humans were for sure very nice to touch; they were for sure very soft and warm. He didn't want to ask Ninja if he could touch him, the man wasn't very polite when it came to physical contact. Yes, he was glad he managed to figure out how to simulate touch, but at the same time he felt sad, when he realized he will be never able to touch those he loves the most when they were still humans.

He didn't like this; he was supposed to be happy. Instead he felt bad, because he just realized a thing that he will never be able to fix. That frustrated him. Why was life like this?

He came to Deon, who was sleeping right now. He sat in front of couch and leaned close to his Maker.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, with regret in his voice.

His ears perked up, when Deon wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close and whispering.

"..s okay."

Chappie curled to his Maker. No matter what he will do, Deon and Yolandi will never be humans again. He could only try to get them as close to being human as possible. He didn't know whether that would be ever enough for him…

Someday it had to come; someday he had to be caught. Kid on the street finally saw him.

One day, when he was once again sitting in the tree and reading, he noticed there was a cat right in front of him. He heard cats have habit to climb up trees, but he never thought this will happen right in front of him.

When he lowered the book, he saw cat, just sitting there and meowing at him. His ears got up rapidly and he almost dropped the book. He was lucky that he managed to catch it and then he pulled it to his chest. He never dropped a book, and he never will. He looked at animal again. He never saw a cat so close to him. He carefully reached out to it, and he wanted to smile, because cat didn't run away. He got even closer and then finally rubbed it on the head. The fur was so soft and actually different from rat fur, he was used to. Cat rubbed against his hand and made a weird sound that Chappie never heard before. He shoved closer so he could take a better look at feline and continued to rub it. The animal wasn't afraid of him, just like the dog back then. It was meowing and Chappie was totally enchanted by this little being.

"Wow."

He turned his head to look down, and he saw the owner of unfamiliar voice. In process, he froze, because there was standing a child. It was a small boy, and his age could be around 10 years. He was staring at him and Chappie was trying to think what to do now. The boy saw him, there was no way he will get away and making him think it was just imagination or something. Deon will kill him for this. Also, the cat ran away.

"Hey." The boy waved at him, unsure. He was curious but at the same time he looked scared. Chappie knew very well why. Even though he wasn't working for police, didn't carry a gun and he had spray graffiti on his body, he still looked like a Scout. He was a Scout. His body was created to fight and he will never be able to do anything about it. He understood a small kid feared him.

He saw the boy is still waiting what will happen and maybe he was even ready to run away. That would not be good…

"Hey." He answered as friendly as he could and waved at the boy. The child looked at him, very surprised. Chappie was sure this boy saw Scouts earlier, and since he sounded so different, it had to be a quite a shock. "Don't worry, 'm not a police droid."

"Really? But you look like one."

"Ja. I was born like this."

Now the child started to look very curious. "You were born? You're a robot."

Chappie understood this kid won't mean any danger. So he jumped down from the tree and then stood in his full impressive height. He was two metres tall, that would scared or at least impress any adult, so making a child flinch didn't surprise him. The boy didn't run away, but he was intimidated by him. Chappie remembered very well he had the same effect on Michelle, and she was adult.

"I know, but still, I was born. Don't worry, I don't want to hurt you."

Boy seemingly calmed down, but he was still looking at Chappie suspiciously. So Scout kneeled in front of him to have their eyes on the same level.

"I'll tell you more, if you promise me you won't tell anyone, but we can't talk like this out here. Somebody else could see me, let's go up." He pointed back to the tree and boy after few second nodded.

"I promise."

"Good. I'll help you up." He took boy's hand and they carefully climbed up the tree, so they ended up sitting in the crown. Kid noticed the book that Chappie left sitting on the branch and he pointed it to it.

"Is that a book? You were reading here?"

"Ja. I like reading, you too?"

"Sometimes… I didn't know robots read books." Kid raised his eyebrow and Chappie's ears went down. "I never thought I would see a robot read a book. Where did you even learn that?"

"My Maker gave me a book, after the day I was born, since then I like reading."

Boy looked at him curiously. "Your Maker? You mean your dad?"

Chappie stopped moving when he heard that. His dad… Yes, he called Ninja as his Daddy, but to be honest, the more and more Chappie learned about humans and concept of family, Chappie started to hesitate. Ninja started to feel more like a rude uncle who was going around and telling him what to do. Father, dad, was described as the one who gave life to child, or when he adopts the child. Deon gave him life, but Ninja was the one teaching him things first few days. Still, the father should take care of his child, love him, protect him, and be patient and forgiving. Ninja was nothing of that. Chappie wasn't mad at him for it; he just understood that he will never see those things from him. He even forgave him that Ninja wanted to only use him to get money and let him die. He also forgave him that he practically left him out, to be beaten and burned without any regret, but holding grudge was useless.

On the other side was Deon, who was always trying his best for Chappie, and he still didn't feel like it was enough. He never hurt him, never yelled at him in anger and never blamed him. Yes, they yelled at each other few times, but over time Chappie understood Deon wanted the best for him. Yes, his Maker had flaws, but he never left him outside all alone and didn't want to use him only as a tool to get free money. When he was remembering on first week of his life, he regretted he didn't understand his Maker's intentions back then. Chappie chose Ninja over Deon back then and decided to trust him. Deon was helping as much as he could, but he wasn't able to find a way to save him and Chappie hated him back then for it. He regrets till this day yelling at Deon.

These days it was all different. Ninja was keeping his distance; he didn't warm up to Chappie. He was found of him, because he managed to bring Yolandi back and he had some respect for him, but that was it. Chappie didn't do anything to improve their relationship, he was just waiting. He wasn't rude to Ninja, he didn't blame him for past mistakes, but he was not the one that will do the first step to make their relationship better. He knew very well Ninja is afraid of him, and to be honest, he was glad. Because it meant Ninja won't try to do anything stupid. The man knew that if Chappie wanted, he would be able to break his neck in seconds; he was attacked by him back then after all, when Chappie finally found out the truth. No, Chappie didn't want to hurt Ninja, he didn't see reason for that, but a silent respect made him sure that past won't repeat. Chappie would stand out for Ninja, he would protect him, he was part of family after all, and as people say, you can't choose a family. Still, he was sure he will never let himself be manipulated again, by anyone, and Ninja will for sure remember that. Because of all of this, Chappie had hard times to think of Ninja as his father. Sometimes they had a little friendly talk, but it was never the same as with Deon…

With Deon he felt safe, he felt loved and wanted. Deon never told him to go away; he always waited when Chappie will return so he can welcome him back with open arms. He could tell his Maker anything, and didn't need to be afraid that he will be laughed at or even yelled at. Now when no one was keeping him away from Chappie, Deon spent with him as much time as they both wanted. They didn't have to rush, be afraid or stressed. They could just sit and talk, or trying to figure out something new. It was similar to those moments he spends with Mommy, but different at the same time. With Yolandi, it was mostly calm and soothing. With Deon, it was fun and more active. Chappie liked both, but he also liked to just lie down next to his Maker and watch him sleep, knowing he is safe or read books together. Deon loved him so much, he would go anywhere for him, and he would never complain.

When Chappie browsed the Internet, he got to know many human stories. And he remembered very well those about children that were born, but no one took care about them. No one wanted them, even their own parents. Chappie understood that good parent was not the one who only gave child the life, but the one who took care. That was Deon, not Ninja. Deon not only gave him life, but he was willingly taking care of him, loving him. Deon was his father… his dad.

When he finally returned into reality, he nodded.

"Ja. My dad."

He didn't know how long he was thinking, thoughts were running faster, than it looked like. He was sure he was thinking for a minute at most His mind worked much faster than human one, but still this made him think.

"So he's the one who made you." Kid smiled at him and Chappie nodded.

"He's a very nice person. You know, I never talked to a child before, you are the first one."

"Wow, how old are you?"

Chappie looked at boy and he gave out a little hiss that was his chuckle. "Few weeks."

Boy looked him, stunned. "So you are still a child?!"

Well, he didn't feel like a child anymore, but technically he was, he guessed.

"Well, I think I am."

"That's cool. Hey, would you like to play with me? I have a ball at home, we could play soccer. Well, you know what soccer is, right?"

Chappie tried to search his memory. He knew that word, he knew something about the game, but he never played it. "I never played it."

"That's OK. I'll teach you, but I need to go now, or my mom will go crazy."

Chappie chuckled; he knew that feeling very well. Yolandi was also worried when she didn't know what was he doing, or where he was.

"Oh, I forgot." Boy offered his hand. "I'm Andile."

Chappie looked at the hand and then very gently took it, wiping his nose. "Chappie."

They shook hands and it was a very good feeling. Looks like he made a new friend, something he wanted to do for so long. He will keep it as secret for now; Deon would have a panic attack, if he knew about this, so it will be better to keep it as secret. He will tell, when he thinks its right time. He helped Andile down from the tree and they said goodbye to each other. Chappie was sure they will see each other soon again. For some reason, he trusted that kid. Something was telling him he doesn't have to be afraid.

So this is how it feels like to make a new friend, and it was amazing.

Chappie heard whimpers. It was late night and he was lying next to Deon. He got used to this. Yes, he could do things in night, since he did not get tired, he didn't have to sleep or rest, but he liked peace. In night, he could lie down and enjoy silence, and he didn't have to listen to anyone. He could just lie down, think and relax. It was also helpful, because of Deon. His Maker was still suffering from nightmares time by time. So Chappie was staying by his side during the night. Deon was telling him he doesn't have to do this and that he can manage by himself, but Chappie was doing it anyway. He loved his Maker, he would do anything for him. Deon was very stubborn, when someone wanted to help him, he was saying he is ok and doesn't need any help. To his bad luck, Chappie learned very quickly to see through this and he refused to leave Deon alone.

He sat up slowly, to make as least noise as he could. Slowly, he leaned to Deon and rubbed him on the side, because of whimpers, Chappie could tell he was having a nightmare again. He wished he could help, somehow, but dream world was a place he doesn't' have an access to. He couldn't do anything; Deon had to overcome this by himself. Only possible solution was to wake him up and not let him suffer any longer.

He grabbed Deon and turned him around, so he could pull him close and start to wake him up. Deon immediately by instinct grabbed Chappie's hand and pulled it close.

"Deon, wake up. It's OK, just a bad dream, wake up." He started to shake with Deon, gently, but strong enough to wake him up. He continued in shaking, until his Maker finally got back into reality and looked at his child.

"Chappie…" He sighed in relief and leaned on his creation's chest. He was safe, the dream was gone.

"You had a bad dream again?"

Deon just nodded. "Yeah… nothing really new, same old stuff. Screams, loud sounds, blood… at least I didn't' see you there this time. And I didn't see me dying again…"

Deon sighed and let himself to enjoy Chappie's presence. It was much easier to deal with bad dreams when he knew his child is close to him, but at the same time he felt ashamed. He was supposed to protect Chappie; instead Chappie was helping and protecting him all the time. What kind of parent was he, if he couldn't take care of own child, and needed to be helped all the time. It didn't matter his new body was much stronger and sturdier than his human one, he felt weaker. He didn't dare to use his full strength, ever, and he still didn't get used. Chappie had to practically hold him by his hand since he became robot. He had to do something about this, he had to be stronger, what if Chappie needs him one day, and he will not be able to help him? Just like in those dreams. He had to get over this, his own fear. Screw fear of immortality and his bad memories, he will get through this. He had to be there for his child.

Yolandi was watching Deon, who was going from one side of room to another. He was walking, or just standing, when he was thinking, and it was making her rather nervous. He was doing this for a whole hour now. Good thing Ninja was somewhere outside, so she didn't have to listen their arguing. Still, she would be very glad if he could just sit down and relax for once. She already knew him too well, so she knew that just won't happen.

"Could you just sit down and be calm for once?"

Deon's ears went up, when he registered her voice and looked at her.

"I am calm, I'm just thinking."

"You're walking like this for whole hour. What are you even thinking about?" She asked him with a sincere worry in her voice. If Deon was doing this, it meant he was worried. He wasn't thinking about regular stuff, something was bothering him. Deon looked at her again and for this time he stopped. His ears went down and he sighed. She clapped on the couch, and that was gesture for him to sit down. In the end he gave up and sat next to her.

"What are you so worried about? Chappie?"

Deon looked at her, and to her surprise, he shook his head.

"He can take care of himself. He grew up so fast." There was joy in his voice, but also a little sorrow. He wished Chappie would still be a child, so he could have a better childhood.

"Yeah, it feels like yesterday when he was born. Remember when he was just learning how to talk, or when you gave him that chicken?"

"Or when I gave him the book?" They started to laugh, it all felt so distant, but at the same time, it felt so close. Then Deon sighed.

"I'm not really worried about him; he's not a child anymore. I'm worried I may not be able to help him, when he needs me. I tried to protect him since he was born, but I feel like I failed at every possible level. He is the one protecting me. I can't even deal with my own nightmares without him. I don't want to lose him, and I'm afraid it will happen one day, when he will be helping me, but I won't be able to help him."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because I can't even take care of myself… and this body makes it only worse. I felt more capable of protecting him as a human. Isn't that funny?" He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. This was hilarious to think of, but at the same time awful.

"No. It's not." Yolandi didn't share his ironical sense of humor. She knew it hurts him and this was only a way to try to hide the pain. "You'll get over it by time. Just be patient. I know it was easier for me to get used on new body, because you two prepared it for me, so I don't really have a right to talk like this, but it will be OK. Trust me."

"...you think?"

"Ja." She patted him on the head gently, just like when she was comforting Chappie. Deon was grateful to her, for being so caring. She didn't really have a reason to care about him, but she did, and Deon could tell that she was not doing it just because of Chappie. She was sincerely worried about him, as a person. Maybe he should trust her, still…

He looked up to window and Yolandi looked confused. "What is it?"

"I don't know, but for some reason I have a weird feeling. Like something is coming." He didn't know what it was, but he trusted his instincts. Something was about to change, but what?

Michelle took a deep breath. All of this should be worth it, and if not, she will be very angry. Getting TetraVaal at least into its previous state will still take some time, but there was progress. It cost her many sleepless nights and days full of work, but she knew it would be worth it. Still, now she had to deal with one more thing. She gathered up few lawyers on this, because there was no way she would be able to deal with this all by herself. South African laws weren't her cup of tea, and this was very complicated task.

Vincent had a lot to explain, and his criminal records filed more than one folder. It was almost admirable how much you can screw up during one day. She could leave Vincent in police's hands, and don't bother with him, but she just couldn't do that. Even after all he has done, she still thought of him as her friend. She also needed to have a long talk with him. So she prepared her already tired nerves, and decided to pay him a little visit. Doctors told her he is already in state when she could have a talk with him. She didn't bring him any sweets or flowers. She was bringing her bad mood instead.

Oh no, mister, you are in deep trouble now, and you will need to face it. She finally got to his room and took a deep breath. She never liked hospitals and she was sure this little episode wouldn't make it any better for her. She pulled the handle and entered the room. It was late afternoon and sun was going down. There was a big window, so the room was fully filled with light.

She turned and there he was. When she saw him for the last time, he was still sleeping and she knew very well he didn't notice her presence. She had the same regretful feeling just as last time. Why did this have to happen?

Vincent noticed the sound of opening door and he immediately looked away from magazine and looked who came to visit him. When he recognized his boss, he put magazine on the table and his look stayed fixed on her. He was curious, when she will visit him, but she didn't look pleased. Oh no, he knew this look. That won't be good.

She sat on the chair next to the bed, without saying a word and then finally looked at him, sighing.

"Hello, Vincent." She greeted him with a calm voice, but her feelings were boiling inside her, and her sight was locked on his face.

"Hello, madam." He greeted her humbly and waited.

"You look better since the last time I saw you."

"You were here?"

She nodded. "Yes, why shouldn't I? You are my employee. I think I should be concerned about you… And Deon."

Now he flinched and Michelle actually enjoyed that. He knew what was coming.

"You know, Deon. Your co-worker, who you tried to kill." Vincent wanted to say something but she shut him, by pointing up her finger. "Don't try Vincent, I know everything, I saw everything. You are in deep trouble. So, you should think very well, what you will tell me right now."

Vincent stayed silent for a few moments. This wasn't what he expected. He thought that she may be angry with him, but he didn't think she will blame him for everything that happened. The mention of Deon made him the most uncomfortable. She knew he was trying to kill him, that alone was enough to throw him right into the jail, and if she knew more…

"Vincent, why did you do it? I told you we would represent Moose to the army, I told you I would do my best to help you succeed. So why? Was it really that important?" Michelle tried to hide the disappointment in her voice, but it was useless. In fact, there was no reason to hide it. She looked at man who she knew for few years now, and who let her down so much. Right now she wasn't asking him as his chef, but as a human, a friend. She hoped she would get a genuine answer.

"I… I just wanted to help. I wanted to help clean this city, from crime, from all those bastards." Michelle noticed when he grabbed blanket and squeezed it with both hands." I thought that the more brutal force we use, the more effective it will be. Scouts are not enough, they will never be."

"And that's your reason to shut them down, and get so many innocent people killed?! Innocent, Vincent, innocent people died that night! Do you understand that?!" Michelle's voice broke; she couldn't keep a calm tone anymore. She was mad, and it was good thing that he will know. "I thought you soldiers try to protect innocent people…"

"I tried!"

"BY LETTING PEOPLE GET KILLED?! THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE EVEN IN THE ARMY, VINCENT! MAYBE, SCOUTS WEREN'T PERFERCT, BUT THE FACT IS, THEY WERE PROTECTING PEOPLE, AND YOU GOT RID OF THEM!"

Vincent actually flinched when Michelle started to yell at him. He saw her angry many times, but never like this.

"You let people get killed and you almost got the whole TetraVaal down! Are you proud of yourself? Do you think that showing off Moose was worth all of this? How could you be so selfish, Vincent? I trusted you!"

"B-b-but Deon also disobeyed you, when he created that godless monster!" Vincent tried to fight back, but he understood very quickly this wasn't the smart move to do.

"Deon didn't almost destroy the whole city and company. Yes, Chappie made crimes, but he did it, because he thought it would save his life. Deon only wanted to create a life and teach it. You, on the other hand, endangered whole city, because you wanted to show how fancy Moose is! Chappie never wanted to hurt anyone!" Michelle rubbed her face and sighed, "There was no reason for this, Vincent, why couldn't you be more patient?"

"I was patient for years, how long should I wait, before my own robot gets a chance to shine and crash criminals?!"

"We're not army, Vincent, we are not crashing anyone. You would have got your chance with army, not police, since the policemen didn't clearly understand why they would need a walking tank. Still, did you lose your mind? I know you were jealous of Deon, but this came too far! How am I supposed to trust you now?!"

Vincent didn't have an answer for that. He just kept staring at her and his face got guiltier by every second. She was right. He disobeyed, he betrayed her trust, and she had no reason to trust him ever again. He had his chance, and he screwed it. What will happen now?

"Still… I know you are very intelligent and skillful; it would be shame to not have you in my company. I would like to give you a second chance, on lower position, obeying every order, but… Can I trust you? And do you even want to come back?"

Vincent looked at her, surprised. "You would… let me go back?"

Michelle nodded. "Under few terms. And trust me, if you would break even one, there is no problem for me to give you right to the police."

"What terms?" Vincent's voice was suspicious, and Michelle didn't blame him, he couldn't really know what she prepared for him.

"You will work in team under someone very talented." Michelle managed to smile at him, but it was impish smile, she knew something that he didn't and it made her very happy.

"Do I know them?"

Now she wanted to laugh, but she managed to keep a neutral face.

"Yes, you know them, and I believe you would make an amazing team. I'll let you think about it, and tomorrow, you will tell me, how you decided." She got up and headed to the door; she opened it, but didn't enter. She turned to him for the last time. "Vince, I hope we would be able to learn from this and make this company better than before. I would be really glad to have you back in TetraVaal, please, think about it. As employee… and old friend." Finally she left the room.

Vincent was looking down and then he turned to look at window. What should he do?


End file.
